💔 How to Save a Marriage That is Falling Apart

👥 Are Opposite Sex Friends Ok?

😔 My Spouse is Putting Me Down (How Do I get Them to Stop?)

💬 Keys to Effective Communication in Marriage

💢 HELP! My Spouse and I Have Nothing in Common

four communication exercises for married couples

Healthy communication lies at the root of any successful relationship. In marriage, this is even more of a necessity. Like our muscles, our communication skills also need to be worked out. There are practices we can make part of our regular routines that will strengthen communication in our marriage.

Here are four communication exercises for married couples:

Exercise #1: The Weekly Meeting

This exercise is excellent to carve out time to focus on your marriage intentionally.

Exercise #2: Connecting Through Breathing

The purpose of this exercise is to focus on your partner and remove distractions.

Exercise #3: Can I Get A Hand?

Your spouse is not a mind reader, so it’s vital to communicate your needs clearly and effectively. This exercise will help.

Exercise #4: Active Listening

This exercise focuses on verbal and nonverbal communication.

Get ready to work out those communication kinks and keep the conversation going!

keys to effective communication

What are the keys to effective communication? Well, research on what makes marriage work show that happy and healthy couples have a ratio of 5:1 positive to negative behaviors in their relationship.

This means there are five times as many positive interactions between happy couples (i.e. listening, validating the other person, using soft words, expressing appreciation, affirmation, physical affection, compliments, etc.) as there are negative (i.e. raising one’s voice, stating a complaint, or expressing one’s anger).

These tips will help improve the effectiveness of communication in your relationship!